Popular Point Defiance Park Gets Cleaned up on Comcast Cares Day

Over the last 18 years, Comcast has been dedicated to giving back to communities nationwide. While the company participates in a number of volunteer opportunities throughout the year, one day in particular is extraordinarily special – Comcast Cares Day.

Comcast Cares Day is a yearly volunteer event celebrated by the company in an effort to do good throughout the communities that the company serves. This day is also a reflection of the dedication to a larger commitment to volunteerism that the Comcast NBCUniversal organization as a whole strives to achieve year-round.

On this day, 100,000 volunteers around the country dedicate their time and energy to lend a helping hand to local organizations and causes that they are passionate about. This year, on the event’s 18th anniversary, Comcast employees, family and friends in the South Sound dedicated their time to help clean up Tacoma’s popular Point Defiance Park.

This year, 150 volunteers donated their time and efforts at Comcast Cares Day at Point Defiance. Photo courtesy: Comcast

On Saturday, May 4, 2019, more than 300 Comcast employees volunteered throughout the South Sound. Volunteers from Comcast’s Puyallup office joined forces with Metro Parks Tacoma to help clean up Point Defiance Park, which covers 760-acres and is visited by more than 3.1 million people each year. Over 150 volunteers showed up to Point Defiance, including members from Pacific Harbor’s Council Boy Scouts of America, members of the National Honor Society from Bethel High School, as well as students from Tacoma’s Science and Math Institute (SAMI) Key Club. From restoring walking trails and weeding out invasive species, to cleaning up debris and repairing damage caused by February’s brutal winter storm, volunteers rolled up their sleeves to help enhance and maintain Point Defiance.

“The synergy Comcast Cares brought to Point Defiance on Saturday the 4th was a force to be reckoned with,” Amy Boucher, Community and Special Projects Coordinator for Metro Parks Tacoma, tells us. “The harsh winter storms this year hit Point Defiance, left lots of downed limbs and debris, which pose a threat to our beautiful park. With a hot and dry summer forecasted, there was a great need to remove as much debris as possible to protect the park. It’s events like this that bring community partnerships alive and make them impacting forces in our communities.”

Young volunteers cleaning up debris in order to help keep Point Defiance safe during the hot and dry summer months ahead. Photo courtesy: Comcast

Among the volunteers was Hans Hechtman, Comcast’s Senior Director of Government Affairs. “It was a great event! Point Defiance is a gem in Pierce County,” Hechtman says. “Comcast Cares Day is an opportunity for us to serve the community in a different way. While we are a large company with a national footprint that brings entertainment and connectivity to every community we serve, we also are very local. Our employees and families are part of the fabric of these communities. This day is a great opportunity for us to come together and improve the places where we live and work.”

While the park was being cleaned up, volunteers also organized and collected items to include in 1,500 blessing bags to donate to the Associated Ministries of Tacoma. Each bag was filled with toiletries and personal hygiene items to be given to those experiencing homelessness. Volunteers also were able to take part in a historic preservation project constructing wooden fences to look historically accurate at the Fort Nisqually Living History Museum located at Point Defiance Park.

Members from the Boy Scouts of America hauling limbs left behind from winter’s snow storms. Photo courtesy: Comcast

“It was amazing! Several of our volunteers have commented on how rewarding it was to be thanked for their service by the park visitors as they were walking by,” Deann English, Comcast Cares Day Event Coordinator recalled. “Point Defiance Park has brought my family so much joy over the years. I was honored to be a small part of keeping it beautiful and safe from potential fire hazards.”

Throughout Washington state, Comcast employees and family members participated in 35 different volunteer projects and helped 27 different non-profit organizations on this year’s annual Comcast Cares Day. Comcast’s NBC Universal Foundation also provided nearly $25 million in grants to local partner organizations on behalf of the volunteers who contributed their time and volunteer efforts on this annual day of giving.

“It’s been a great effort over the past 18 years,” Hans Hechtman of Comcast says. “It’s a day of coming together as one Comcast family.”

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in upcoming volunteer opportunities, visit Comcast’s website to learn more their ongoing investment to the communities and neighborhoods that they serve.

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